


Paranoia

by rolypoly_panda



Series: Whumptober 2020 - Hannibal [1]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Emotional Hurt, Fear, Gen, Hostage Situations, Someone Help Will Graham, Whumptober 2020, will gets his daily anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26782708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rolypoly_panda/pseuds/rolypoly_panda
Summary: Hannibal and Will are taken hostage. And while it must be terrifying for Will, Hannibal can't help but find enjoyment in the whole experience.WHUMPTOBER 2020 PROMPT:"Pick Who Dies"
Series: Whumptober 2020 - Hannibal [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952884
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	Paranoia

**Author's Note:**

> All copyright content doesn't belong to me. All characters belong to NBC and Bryan Fuller.

The man before them was suffering from delusions of grandeur, his coherency spiraling as quickly as his patience, it seemed. Hannibal observed, quietly, more curious than anything to see if the man would follow through with his proposals. "I'll kill you," he snarled. "I'll fucking kill you!"

Perhaps he would.

Hannibal wasn't quite as curious as he was irritated, however. The young man was drawing out his threats as he paced between them and the door Jack and the FBI were hammering against with a battering ram. At his side, Will was shaking, ripping at the rope bindings until his fingernail bled as he pleaded, "Wait, wait, Michael just--Wait. We can talk this through--"

"I don't believe you!" the man shrieked, his face red and eyes bloodshot.

Michael Cawthorne, age twenty-one, suffering from a psychotic break due to an LSD-induced psychotic break, likely from dormant schizophrenia, Hannibal supposed. Medication would right the wrongs in his head, but had still murdered seven people in his hallucinating state. Hannibal never bothered to learn their names.

He was sure dear Will could recount them all.

"Just let us  _ help _ you, Michael. We can help you." His tone was surprisingly even, given the circumstances. What with an unhinged man itching to pull his gun's trigger on them at any moment, Hannibal had expected someone to be fearful. Of course, Will wore the tells of fear, of the anxiety that would devour him on the daily and leave him smelling sweetly of adrenaline and cortisol and sweat. But he was sure. Confident, even.

That, too, interested Hannibal.

He would let Cawthorne draw out his hysteria. Only for a moment longer. Because as much as Hannibal wanted to see what would happen, he couldn't let Will die. Not by this man's hand.

One of three things would happen:

The FBI would break through the doors and either shoot Cawthorne or arrest him. Hannibal much preferred the former to study Will's reaction, but the latter would be an adequate end.

Will would calm the man down. That wasn't quite as enthralling as the first option, but it  _ would _ cue Hannibal into Will's mind, something he always enjoyed.

Or, finally, Hannibal could murder Cawthorne. Out of self-defense, Hannibal would be able to kill the curious nuisance, though he wasn't looking forward to having to play down his abilities. The last thing he needed was for Will to suspect him as he snapped Cawthorne's neck.

All three were of high probability. So, Hannibal sat quietly and waited.

Cawthorne paced faster. He tapped his pistol against his thigh, muttering to himself under his breath as Will said, "Your name is Michael Ryan Cawthorne. You were born June seventh, nineteen--"

"Shut up!" the man slapped his hands over his ears. "Just  _ shhh.  _ Shut the  _ fuck  _ up!"

Will's mouth snapped shut.

Cawthorne keener. He tapped the gun against his thigh again. Then, he flipped around, aiming down at Hannibal. "I'll kill you!" Surging forward, he rammed the barrel of the pistol to Hannibal's forehead. "I'll kill you." He flung it at Will, then. "Or I'll kill him! Who's first? You? Him?  _ Who? _ "

Hannibal glanced up at Cawthorne. "What do the voices say?" he asked.

Will stiffened at his side. He stayed quiet.

"They  _ say, _ " The man rounded the gun back to Hannibal's head. "That  _ you _ should choose."

"I see." Hannibal said.

He waited, then.

After a beat, Cawthorne scowled and jerked away, mumbling to himself. He tapped the pistol to his thigh once more, a rhythmic click-tap that echoed in the gutted warehouse room. "Come on, come on," Cawthorne spat. "Oh come  _ on _ , come on,  _ just answer me--! _ "

A loud pop ripped through the air, startling Hannibal enough to make him flinch back and blink. He watched as the young man before them reeled, howling, tumbling to his hands and knees as he grabbed for his foot. Blood bubbled over the leather of his boot, spilling out onto the tile below.

Ah, so there was a fourth option.

Hannibal had hoped he wouldn't need to calculate for human error. Pitifully, it seemed, he had been mistaken.

Jack barreled through the door a beat later, gun out and poised on Cawthorne as he wailed, an animal wounded. Hannibal turned to Will. Will appeared shaken, still shaking, still breathing hard, struggling to calm himself. Hannibal didn't untie either of their bindings, instead waiting for agent Katz to free them. As soon as the ropes came loose, Will jolted to his feet and made for the door.

Hannibal trailed after him. "Will." he called.

Will didn't turn. He pushed on, through the parking lot, past the SWAT team's vans. Once in the grassy clearing beyond, he stopped and spun on his heel. "What were you  _ thinking? _ " he cried out.

Hannibal blinked.

He hadn't expected such a visceral reaction.

"I was attempting to buy time." Hannibal answered. "He was dangerous. And I was unsure of the best course of action. Forgive me--"

"The 'best course of action', Hannibal," Will hissed. "Was to calm him down, not  _ rile him up! _ " His hands were shaking hard, enough so that he stuffed them into his pockets to attempt hiding them.

"Forgive me." Hannibal repeated. "I miscalculated my attempts at disarming him."

Will scowled, spinning back around and stomping off.

Hannibal raised his chin. While that hadn't been what he was anticipating, that was, indeed, interesting...

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! For anyone that's interesting, I'll be working on Whumptober/Whumpwinter prompts for _ninety_ fricken days, so that's that.
> 
> It's mainly Umbrella Academy, but hit me up on [Tumblr!](https://itty-bitty-rampaging-committee.tumblr.com/) I take requests!


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